It is known to provide an interior rearview mirror assembly that includes a vehicle information display, such as a directional heading display or compass display, such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,727, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Typically, such a mirror assembly includes a compass sensor, such as a magnetoresistive sensor, a magnetocapacitive sensor, a magnetoinductive sensor, or a flux gate sensor or the like, which may be fixedly attached to a mirror mount that attaches the mirror assembly to a mirror assembly mounting element, such as a conventional mounting button mounted on an interior surface of the windshield of the vehicle. The mirror assembly may also include compass processing circuitry that is operable to process the signals from the sensors and to control or adjust the display to provide directional heading information to the driver or occupant of the vehicle.
It is also known to provide a telematics system, such as ONSTAR® or the like, as a vehicle feature or option or accessory. The telematics system includes a telematics electronics control unit or module that may be positioned at an instrument panel area of the vehicle or elsewhere in the vehicle and typically remote from the interior rearview mirror assembly. The telematics control module may include a global positioning system (GPS) control or unit or receiver and a cellular telephone receiver and/or the like.
The interior rearview mirror assembly in many vehicles provides a human-machine interface (HMI), such as buttons or the like and/or a microphone for interfacing with the telematics control module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,287, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The mirror assembly thus may include user actuatable inputs or buttons or controls, such as at a bezel or chin portion of the mirror assembly that are readily accessible for actuation by an occupant of the vehicle, and/or may include a microphone for receiving audible signals from within the cabin of the vehicle. The user actuatable buttons and the microphone at the interior rearview mirror assembly are typically connected to or in communication with the telematics control module. For example, a keypad status of the user actuatable buttons or keypad is typically communicated to the telematics control module via a two wire connective or communication link between the mirror assembly and the telematics control module, with the status identification being achieved via a variable resistance keypad at the buttons. The microphone is also typically connected to the telematics control module via a separate two wire connection.
It is also known in the art (such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,539,306; 5,724,316; and 5,761,094, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference) to utilize the global positioning system as a means of or adjunct to directional sensing for the vehicle. The GPS control unit may optionally be connected to or in communication with the compass sensor/system/display via a separate connective wiring or communication link. The wiring thus typically is separately provided for vehicles that will include such a GPS-derived directional sensing system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a vehicle communication or telematics system, which has a human-machine interface or accessory associated with an in-vehicle telematics control module and located at an interior assembly that is remote from the in-vehicle telematics control module, and which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.